Sichuan Provincial People’s Government has issuedConstruction Scheme of China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which, according to the actual development of Sichuan and the characteristics of differentiated advantages,refines the overall plan from the State Council, and promulgates the "timetable" and "roadmap" for the construction of China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
According to the scheme, the supply-side structural reform will be the major work of the area with system innovation as the core, in accordance with the requirement of “generating experience within half a year,getting achievements within one year,stepping higher within two years, and reaching the target requirements within three years”.With inventory system and responsibility system, it is to construct an inland free trade port to be in the forefront in a new round of opening.The schemestates 7 major tasks: striving to create an international and facilitated business environment with the rule of law, building an opening up leading area in the western portal city, constructing a pilot areawith inland opening supporting strategy, forging an international open junction area, building a new highland ofinland opening economy,constructing a cooperated demonstration zone of inland, coastal and border areas, andhelping with the western financial center construction.
The provincial office of the free trade zone said the plan reflects the distinctive features of the reform and innovation of China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone: higher standards, higher stations, highlight inland features.
Industrial development. The schemehas clearly put forward to vigorously develop the high-end manufacturing industry, by assisting "seven dominant industries, seven strategic emerging industries and five high-end growth industries, five leading service industries" to encourage electronic information, automobile manufacturing, bio-medicine, rail transportation, intelligent manufacturing, aviation and burning machine, new materials and other industries to agglomeratein the pilot area, and food and beverage as well as other traditional industries to speed up their development of value and innovation; it is alsoto vigorously develop the international exhibition economy, headquarters economy, business services, health care, information services, cultural creative industry, scientific and technological R & D, emerging finance, intellectual property operations and other new economies.
Future development. We will play the superimposed policy integration effect of the comprehensive innovation reform in the pilot area, the independent innovation demonstration zone, Tianfu New Area as well as the pilot free trade zone,and explore the methods of promoting transformation of scientific and technological achievements and integration of military and civilian to make the pilot area a regional innovation platform with exemplary and leading role. The method of bringing in overseas talents in an international environment and of the acceleration of internationalization of talents identification will bestudied and formulated; offshore pilotsof innovation and business starting for overseas talent management will be carried out; innovation center of overseas talents and "pre-incubation" platform willbe constructed. All of these are to promote high-end talent aggregation.
The most prominent characteristic of China (Sichuan) Free Trade Zone is the strategy of opening up inland, boarder and coastal areas. The plan defines the concrete path of cooperative opening up: first, to promote the synergy of international and domestic reform. That is, general rules for international investment and trade will be carried out;high standards will be used to promote the innovation of FTA pilot system. At the same time, we are to explore collaborative reform mechanism with other free trade zones with differentiated and characteristic tests. The second is the internal cooperation and opening up with "complementary advantages" and "mechanism interaction" in the three major areas to avoid excessive competition and homogeneous development;the coordinated development mechanism will emerge among Chengdu and another four cities in South Sichuan to promote the coordinated development between the free trade zone and five major economic zones; we will deepen the coordinated interaction with the coastal areasand strive to build high-end manufacturing, modern service industry and port industrial base in accordance withthose in eastern areas;we also need to deepen the opening and cooperation mechanism along the Yangtze River, creating the modern shipping service system and the intelligent logistics network of the Yangtze River port, and building a"single window" of comprehensive port service.
Officials of the free trade zone office said that up to now, the top design of China (Sichuan) Free Trade Zone has been basically formed, and 3 of the 4 pillar works have been completed, namely the overall program, management measures, and implementation plan. Sichuan Province will soon release local regulations for the FTA and strengthen the role of law in reform. We will also establish "five pillar platforms", namely a statistical monitoring platform, researching think-tank, media center and law service agencies, supervision and evaluation mechanism, so as to ensure the orderly and efficient advance of China (Sichuan) Free Trade Zone.
